There are two kinds of hauntings a person might experience at a residence or on a piece of property: violent hauntings and non-violent hauntings. Both types are discussed below.
Violent Hauntings
If you are currently going through a violent haunting, it will be prudent to follow the five following guidelines:
#1. Never challenge the entity in any way (saying things like, “If you are present, then show yourself or give me a sign”).
#2. Under no circumstances should you ever speak to the entity. Doing so can put you, your loved ones and your property in danger. We are to use instead imperative or deprecatory prayers.
#3. Specifically, never ask the entity questions. Asking demons questions or challenging it can have disastrous consequences.
#4. Never, under any circumstances, attempt to contact the entity through séances, Ouija boards, psychic mediums. shamans, or any other occult or New Age methodology in the attempt to negotiate with and/or placate the spirit.
#5. Do not use “imprecatory” commands directed toward the entity. Imprecatory prayer is prayer that contains curses. The Bible has many imprecatory prayers.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines imprecatory as “to invoke evil upon; curse.”
Father Hardon's Catholic Encyclopedia refers to imprecatory in the entry on “imprecatory psalms”": Those in which the psalmist pronounces a curse over the enemies of God and God's people, as when David prays, "May no one be left to show him kindness, may no one look after his orphans, may his family die out, its name disappear in one generation" (Psalm 109:12-13). Such imprecations should be seen as the ardent expressions of the Oriental mind, and written under divine inspiration. They were not only statements of the human author, asking God to punish evildoers, but in prophetic terms foretold the divine intention, i.e., what God was going to do to those who resisted his will. (Etym. Latin in- + precari, to pray: imprecor, to call upon, to invoke on a person.) As we can see imprecatory is not a mere “command”, it refers to invoke and to curse. The very word means in Latin to pray, to call upon, to invoke on a person. These types of commands are to be avoided as they can place you and/or your loved ones in danger. This is one reason why the Holy See has officially prohibited the use of imprecatory commands by anyone outside of a formal solemn exorcism (see Inde Ab Aliquot Annis: On The Current Norms Governing Exorcisms, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, September 29, 1985).
Here are some examples of imprecatory prayer in the Old Testament:
Psalm 55:15 - Let death take my enemies by surprise; let them go down alive to the grave.
Psalm 58:6 - O God, break the teeth in their mouths.
Psalm 69:28 - May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.
Psalm 109:9 - May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.
Psalm 137:9 - How blessed will be the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.
Here are some examples in the New Testament:
Matthew 23:13 - “But woe to you*, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you shut the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither enter yourselves, nor allow those who would enter to go in.” ("Woe to you" means to call down sorrow and calamity.)
Matthew 26:23-24 - He answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me, will betray me. The Son of man goes as it is written of him, but woe* to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”
1 Corinthians 16:22 - If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.
Galatians 1:8-9 - But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, If any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed.
Imprecations are reserved to a priest authorized to perform a Solemn exorcism only!
#6. Direct imperative commands may be used in deliverance prayers. For example, “Depart from me, demon of anger, and go where Christ tells you to go” and “I rebuke you demon of anger.” This is perfectly acceptable. It is not imprecatory as it is not calling down a curse or a calamity on the demon.
#7. Deprecatory language may be used in our prayers. Deprecatory language avoids the personal confronting of the demons, the “I” language, and replaces if by asking the Father to do the commanding or rebuking/binding/casting out. For example, follows is the imprecatory prayers listed in the last paragraph to deprecatory language: “In the name of Jesus Christ, Father, I ask you to command this demon of ...” or “In the name of Jesus Christ, Father I ask you to rebuke (bind) (cast out) this demon of ...” Also see see our Resources page for examples of prayers that use deprecatory wording.
Prayer affords the best protection for you and your family at this point. Pray the prayers that we have listed on our Resources page. Try not to be afraid. Although we do fully realize that the events that may be going on around you are terrifying, try to realize that you are being protected by God and His holy Angels. If you were not being protected, you would not be reading this right now. In addition to this, you need to seek out help, whether it be help from us or clergy.
To begin with helping yourself with violent hauntings or any other spiritual warfare problem, reach out to your local parish. Ask if a clergyman (priest or deacon) is available to bless your home or even say the Holy Mass on-site at the property. Do not be afraid to ask your Priest or another Minister for help.
The bottomline is that it can be dangerous to fight these violent hauntings alone without assistance and guidance from an experiences and trained deliverance counselor.
Non-Violent Hauntings
Not every haunting is caused by malevolent or diabolical entities. These types of hauntings typically involve more benign activity but can still be quite frightening. Although no one can say for sure why human spirits end up not “moving on”, the fact remains that sometimes they do not. One theory is that these spirits are currently undergoing a portion of their purgatory here on earth and are given a special grace from God to attract the attention of us in this earthly world. Perhaps they have no one to pray for them and God, in his mercy, allows them to make their presence known to others so that prayers will be said. After all, most people who witness paranormal events in their lives automatically begin to pray. This is only theory. (See the article, Seven Kinds of Ghosts for more information on the different types of manifestations.)
If you experience non-violent hauntings we advise that your first seek the help of your local clergy to pray with you and bless the house. If you find that your clergy are unable to deal with your situation, contact us and we will do what we can to help you. As a self-help method, you can also follow the advice and prayers below.
Special Note: As mentioned in the “Seven Kinds of Ghosts” article, sometimes demons do pose as human spirits. NEVER attempt to contact or talk to a spirit. You can pray for the situation, but under no circumstances should you attempt contact these spirits through any means. This includes consulting psychics and mediums, using a Ouija board, or asking questions of the spirit. You can make your problem far worse if you do not heed this advice. Your only recourse should be prayer. Prayer for the human soul is the best first method to try.
Here is a simple prayer that can be offered for the human soul. Please note that it will likely not be enough to say it only once. Rather, continue to pray it until the activity in your residence stops:
Lord Jesus, master of all things created and Creator of all things, I ask for your mercy on the poor soul in this place who still suffers here on Earth. In Your goodness, Lord, You have allowed this soul to make it's presence known so that (he or she) can obtain the necessary graces to enter into Your kingdom. Look now Lord, with Your eyes of mercy, upon this creature whom You love and allow them to experience the joy of Your presence for all eternity. Amen.
Here is one more prayer that you may find helpful in dealing with human spirits:
Heavenly Father, I offer you the most precious body and blood of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in union with all the Masses being said this day throughout the world, for all the holy souls in purgatory, and especially for the soul of the person who dwells in this home. Amen.
It may also be helpful to have a Mass said for the individual. The Mass is the most powerful prayer God has given to us. Since you will unlikely know the name of the person who is haunting, simply state to the priest that you would like to have a Mass offered for an unnamed departed soul; God knows the poor soul's name.
If praying for the poor human soul haunting your property does not seem to work, even after a Mass is offered for the person, or events change to indicate a suspicion of a demonic spirit instead, or the situation turns into a violent haunting, a different approach may be needed. Review our Resources page as needed. Contact us if you want our help.